Pirates, down 9 to Reds, pull off largest rally in team's 137-season history - ESPN

CINCINNATI — The Pittsburgh Pirates overcame a nine-run deficit for the first time in their 137-season history as Luis Rivas tied a career-high with five RBI in a 13-12 victory on Saturday night that dealt a staggering blow to the Cincinnati Reds' playoff hopes.

Cincinnati, which dropped 2½ games back for the NL's last wild-card berth, opened a 9-0 lead with three runs in the first, five in the second and one in the third, then allowed 13 unanswered runs. The Reds attempted to rally but stranded the potential tying run at third base in the ninth.

The Pirates came into this game 0-819 in their history when trailing by nine-plus runs in a game, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

The Reds, who have lost four straight, squandered a nine-run lead for the first time since a 10-9 defeat at Milwaukee on April 28, 2004. This was the biggest blown lead in the major leagues this season, topping Seattle's 7-0 advantage in a 14-9 loss at the Chicago Cubs on April 11.

Reds rookie Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Tyler Stephenson and TJ Friedl all homered off Bailey Falter, who allowed eight runs and nine hits in two innings. Friedl hit a drive into the right-field corner that Joshua Palacios couldn't come up with and wound up with the Reds' first inside-the-park homer since Jay Bruce at the New York Mets on June 15, 2012.

Spencer Steer's RBI double off Kyle Nicolas boosted the lead to 9-0 in the third.

Held hitless for three innings, Pittsburgh started its comeback on Rivas' RBI single in the fourth off against Connor Phillips. Ji Hwan Bae and Palacios had run-scoring singles in a five-run sixth and Bryan Reynolds hit a three-run homer off Alex Young.

Rivas greeted Lucas Sims with a three-run double in the seventh that tied the score 9-9,